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Vascular participation in deep cold pain
Heinrich Fruhstorfer1, Ulf Lindblom
1Institute of Physiology, University of Marburg, D-3550 MarburgF.R.G. Department of Neurology, Karolinska Hospital, S-104 01 StockholmSweden.
Pain
|November 1, 1983
Summary
Injecting cold saline into hand veins revealed that temperatures below 20°C trigger pain, suggesting specific vascular receptors detect cold and pain. This finding impacts understanding of cold pain perception.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Pain Research
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Cold pain perception is linked to blood flow and internal limb temperature.
- Nociceptors (pain-sensing neurons) are hypothesized to be located near or within vein walls.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that nociceptors activated by cold are located in vein walls.
- To investigate the relationship between injected cold saline temperature and sensory perception (cold and pain).
Main Methods:
- 16 healthy subjects participated in the study.
- Small volumes (20 ml) of cold saline at various temperatures were injected into an empty hand vein.
- Subjects reported sensations of cold and pain.
Main Results:
- Saline below 26°C induced pure cold sensations.
- Saline below 20°C evoked both cold and pain sensations, described as deep and radiating along veins.
- Pain onset followed cold sensation, and pain subsided before or concurrently with cold.
Conclusions:
- The results support the presence of two types of vascular receptors.
- A specific cold receptor and a nociceptor with a threshold around 20°C are proposed.
- This suggests a direct role for vascular structures in mediating cold pain.